Two young people in a mental health crisis were the first patients at a new unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire that opened this week.
The space has room for six patients, ages 12 to 17, who need hospital-level psychiatric care. It has colorful shapes on the floor, big windows, and is decorated with images of national parks.
“It’s a beautiful unit,” said Dr. Will Torrey, the chair of psychiatry at the hospital.
The program is meant to cut down on the number of young people in emergency rooms waiting for mental health care — usually a handful a day in Vermont — while also providing clinical experiences for doctors in training.
“We were extremely pleased that the leadership of Dartmouth Hitchcock was behind the idea of offering this service,” said Torrey.
“It’s a big step forward.”
Because the unit is inside a general hospital, providers can take care of patients with other complex medical needs as opposed to a hospital that only provides psychiatric care.
It's the only unit like it in northern New England — other hospitals with similar units are in Providence, Rhode Island and Boston. Bennington Hospital also plans to build an adolescent psych unit in the next few years.
In recent months, Dartmouth Hitchcock also expanded its adult psychiatric unit from 20 to 24 beds, and can now care for involuntary psych patients.
